HMS ''Victorious'' was one of nine

pre-dreadnought Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built from the mid- to late- 1880s to the early 1900s. Their designs were conceived before the appearance of in 1906 and their classification as "pre-dreadnought" is retrospectively appl ...

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

s of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was armed with a main battery of four guns in two twin turrets, and was capable of a top speed of . She served primarily on home waters, and participated in the Fleet Review for the

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

in 1897. She served briefly in the Mediterranean in 1898 before being transferred to the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...

later that year; ''Victorious'' remained in East Asian waters until 1900, when she returned to the Mediterranean. After returning to the United Kingdom in 1904, ''Victorious'' served as the second

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

. She remained in active service with the fleet in various units until 1908, when she was modernized and then placed in reserve. At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in August 1914 she was mobilized with three of her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s into the 9th Battle Squadron, though by January 1915 she was again withdrawn from front-line service. In September her main guns were removed to arm a pair of

monitors Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

. ''Victorious'' was subsequently used as a repair ship. After the end of the war she was renamed ''Indus II''; plans to use her as a harbor ship were cancelled and, in April 1923, she was sold for scrap.

Design

''Victorious'' was

long overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also u ...

and had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . She displaced up to at

full load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...

. Her propulsion system consisted of two 3-cylinder

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) Cylinder (engine), cylinder, then ha ...

s powered by eight coal-fired, cylindrical fire-tube

Scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a short horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler ...

s. By 1907–1908 she was re-boilered with oil-fired models. Her engines provided a top speed of at . The ''Majestic''s were considered good seaboats with an easy roll and good steamers, although they suffered from high fuel consumption. She had a crew of 672 officers and ratings. The ship was armed with a

main battery A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a naval gun or group of guns used in volleys, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, th ...

of four BL Mk VIII guns in twin-

gun turrets A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanism ...

, one forward and one aft. The turrets were placed on pear-shaped

barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...

s; six of her sisters had the same arrangement, but her sisters and and all future British battleship classes had circular barbettes. ''Victorious'' also carried a

secondary battery A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of Accumulator (energy), energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a ...

of twelve QF /40 guns. They were mounted in

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

s in two gun decks amidships. She also carried sixteen QF 12-pounder guns and twelve QF 2-pounder guns for defence against

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

s. She was also equipped with five

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, four of which were submerged in the ship's

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

, with the last in a deck-mounted launcher. ''Victorious'' and the other ships of her class had 9 inches (229 mm) of Harvey steel in their

belt armour Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and aircraft carriers. The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating to ...

, which allowed equal protection with less cost in weight compared to previous types of armour. This allowed ''Victorious'' and her sisters to have a deeper and lighter belt than previous battleships without any loss in protection. The barbettes for the main battery were protected with of armor, while the

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...

had the same thickness of steel on the sides. The ship's armored deck was thick.

Operational history

Majestic Class Battleships- Hms Victorious Q41583

''Victorious'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

at the Chatham Dockyard on 28 May 1894, launched on 19 October 1895—after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the

about a year later, on 4 November 1896, for service in the Fleet Reserve at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

. On 8 June 1897 she went into full commission for service in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

. Before leaving the United Kingdom, she was present at the Fleet Review at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

for the

on 26 June 1897. She moved to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

where she relieved the battleship . In February 1898 ''Victorious'' was detached from the Mediterranean Fleet for service on the

. On 16 February she ran hard aground while entering the harbor at

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

en route to China. Several tugs attempted to free her but were unable; pump dredgers were needed to shift the sediment around the hull to get her free. She was successfully refloated on 18 February. In 1900, she returned to the Mediterranean and underwent a refit at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. Under the command of Captain Charles Henry Cross, she took part in combined manoeuvres off

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regio ...

and

Morea Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...

in late September and early October 1902. Her Mediterranean service over, ''Victorious'' was paid off at Chatham on 8 August 1903 and began a refit there that lasted until February 1904. ''Victorious'' was recommissioned at Devonport on 2 February 1904 to serve as second

of the

. On 14 July 1904 the

rammed her at

Hamoaze The Hamoaze (; ) is an estuarine stretch of the English tidal River Tamar, between its confluence with the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound. Etymology The name first appears as ''ryver of Hamose'' in 1588. The first element is thought to refer ...

, slightly damaging her. When under a reorganization on 1 January 1905, the Channel Fleet became the new Atlantic Fleet, and ''Victorious'' became an Atlantic Fleet unit. Captain

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the Terra Nova Expedition ...

, the Antarctic explorer, served as her Captain, acting as Flag Captain to Rear-Admiral

George Egerton Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright (born Mary Elizabeth Annie Dunne; 14 December 1859 – 12 August 1945), better known by her pen name George Egerton (pronounced Edg'er-ton), was a writer of short stories, novels, plays and translations, noted for ...

aboard her, for a period in 1906. Her Atlantic Fleet service ended when she paid off at Devonport on 31 December 1906. On 1 January 1907 ''Victorious'' was recommissioned to serve at the

Nore The Nore is a long sandbank, bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades int ...

as part of the

Nore Division The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Tha ...

of the new

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

. She underwent a refit at Chatham in 1908 in which she was converted to burn fuel oil and had main battery fire control and radio installed. She was reduced to a nucleus crew, in commission in reserve, in March 1909. ''Victorious'' was transferred to the

Devonport Division Devonport may refer to: * Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, England ** HMNB Devonport, naval base/dockyard ** Plymouth Devonport (UK Parliament constituency), parliamentary constituency formerly known as Devonport * Devonport, New Zealand, a suburb of Au ...

, Home Fleet, in January 1911, and to the 3rd Fleet in May 1912. She damaged her sternwalk in a collision with her sister ship in fog on 14 July 1912 and began a short refit at Chatham in December 1913.

First World War

In July 1914, the Royal Navy began a precautionary mobilisation as war began to seem imminent. As part of this, ''Victorious'' and her sister ships , , and , formed the 9th Battle Squadron on 27 July 1914, stationed at the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

to defend the British coast; ''Victorious'' remained there as guard ship after the 9th Battle Squadron was dissolved on 7 August 1914. In December 1914 she transferred to the

Tyne Tyne may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography *River Tyne, England *Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England * River Tyne, Scotland *River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia Peopl ...

to serve as guard ship there. On 4 January 1915 ''Victorious'' paid off at Elswick. The ''Majestic''-class ships were by then the oldest and least effective battleships in service in the Royal Navy; ''Victorious'' was laid up on the Tyne February until September 1915 and her 12-inch (305-mm) guns were removed for use aboard the new

and . Between September 1915 and February 1916, Palmers converted her into a

repair ship A repair ship is a naval auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to warships. Repair ships provide similar services to destroyer, submarine and seaplane tenders or depot ships, but may offer a broader range of repair capability incl ...

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

. The converted ''Victorious'' was commissioned as a repair ship on 22 February 1916 and arrived at

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

to replace the converted merchant ship ''Caribbean'', which had been lost in September 1915, as repair ship for the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from th ...

. ''Victorious'' performed this role there until March 1920 when she was renamed ''Indus II'' and transferred to Devonport for a refit to prepare her for service with the

Indus Establishment The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dispu ...

. She arrived at Devonport on 28 March 1920 and paid off into a care and maintenance status while she awaited the beginning of her refit. Plans for the refit, however, were cancelled; work began to convert her into a harbor depot ship but, in April 1922, that conversion was cancelled before it could be completed and she was placed on the disposal list that month. ''Indus II'' was sold for scrapping on 19 December 1922, but the sale was cancelled on 1 March 1923. She was again sold on 9 April 1923 and was towed from Devonport to

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

to be scrapped.

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * *

External links

Maritimequest HMS Victorious Photo Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victorious (1895) Majestic-class battleships Ships built in Chatham 1895 ships Victorian-era battleships of the United Kingdom World War I battleships of the United Kingdom